Another day, another batch of FBI emails that raise serious red flags – this time about how the Bureau handled a major tip on possible Chinese interference in the 2020 election.
And once again, it looks like the folks at FBI headquarters were more interested in protecting their image than doing their job.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a longtime watchdog in Washington, just released internal FBI records that show the agency may have buried a credible lead from one of its own field offices.
Why? Because the tip might have made then-FBI Director Christopher Wray look bad.
The China Election Tip That Disappeared
Back in September 2020, the FBI’s Albany Field Office sent out an official intelligence report.
It was based on information from a trusted confidential human source – someone the FBI itself described as “competent” and “authentic.”
The source claimed that the Chinese government was producing “tens of thousands” of fake driver’s licenses.
The goal? To help generate fraudulent mail-in ballots for Joe Biden.
Now, whether that claim is true or not is still unknown. But here’s the problem: instead of digging into it, the FBI’s top brass yanked the report and told everyone to keep quiet.
Not just that – they locked it away so other FBI offices and intelligence agencies couldn’t even see it.
Why? Because, as one analyst put it, “the reporting will contradict Director Wray’s testimony.”
Let that sink in.
Politics Over Public Safety?
The FBI – whose job is to investigate threats to national security – hid a report because it might embarrass the guy in charge.
That’s not just careless. That’s dangerous.
Even the FBI’s own staff were disturbed.
One analyst wrote that the decision “gets dangerous if we cite potential political implications as reasons for not putting out our information.”
Another staffer said they had “no reason to recall” the report – until headquarters stepped in.
It’s hard to imagine something more backwards.
Instead of protecting election integrity, the leadership at FBI headquarters seems to have been protecting themselves.
Contradicting Testimony?
Here’s where it gets even more concerning.
The day before the report was yanked, Director Wray testified under oath in the Senate that the FBI had not seen any widespread fraud related to mail-in voting.
That’s a pretty strong statement.
Yet the very next day, a field office shared a report that could suggest the opposite – and it was pulled almost immediately.
According to the emails, some at the FBI believed releasing the report might contradict Wray’s sworn testimony.
Grassley’s not buying the timing.
“These records smack of political decision-making and prove the Wray-led FBI to be a deeply broken institution,” Grassley said in a press release. “Chris Wray’s FBI wasn’t looking out for the American people – it was looking to save its own image.”
Grassley praised new FBI Director Patel for cooperating and starting to clean house. But he made clear the damage has already been done.
What About the Follow-Up?
You’d think after something like this, the FBI would at least follow up on the claim quietly.
But nope.
According to Grassley’s report, the FBI’s China division, known as FITF-China, never aggressively investigated the tip.
That’s despite the fact that the source stood by their claim and even provided more details later.
In fact, FITF-China never re-issued the original report.
Instead, the FBI ordered that all election-related reports would now need to be approved by headquarters first. That’s a big change from how things usually work – and not in a good way.
What Critics Say
Some on the left argue that the original claim was shaky or unproven.
They say the FBI did the right thing by being cautious, especially in the middle of a tense election year.
But that’s not how it’s supposed to work.
Investigations aren’t about making people look good or bad. They’re about finding the truth.
Whether a tip helps your team or hurts it shouldn’t matter. The FBI is supposed to be above that.
Why This Matters Now
All of this might sound like old news, but it isn’t.
The Biden administration just shut down the FITF task force that mishandled this situation.
And with the 2024 election in the rearview mirror and 2028 on the horizon, Americans have every reason to wonder: Can we trust our institutions to protect the vote – or are they too busy protecting themselves?
It’s not just about one report. It’s about the FBI’s credibility.
And as Senator Grassley put it, “Now’s the time to rebuild the FBI’s trust.”
That’s going to take transparency, accountability, and a whole lot more honesty than we’ve seen so far.
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
